Cancer and the Scalpel in the Shadow of the Pyramids: Egyptian Physicians’ Bold Struggle
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Day 7 (History of Cancer in 365 Days Series)
Oncology in the Shadow of the Pyramids: When a Physician Took a Scalpel to Cancer 4,600 Years Ago...
For many years, medical historians believed that cancer was “left untouched” in ancient Egypt. This was because our oldest and most respected surgical text, the Edwin Smith Papyrus, stated unequivocally about tumors: “This is an incurable disease; do not touch it.” (Ethical Restraint). This meant that the physician should refrain from acting to avoid harming the patient.
But a skull examined in the quiet of a laboratory fundamentally challenged this written historical account. Today, we will discuss the bold practice revealed by bones, rather than the theory recorded in papyri.
Dating from the Old Kingdom, “Skull 236”is the oldest and most tangible evidence that Egyptian physicians did not sit helplessly by, but tried to cut away cancerous tissue with metal instruments. For them, cancer was not merely a “curse,” but a “problem” to be solved.
The First Encounter Between Cancer and the Scalpel
When paleopathologist Calvin Wells first examined the skull in 1963, he noticed damage caused by cancer (“moth-eaten” holes). Starting in the patient’s nasopharynx, cancer had spread throughout the skull, creating approximately 30 separate holes (metastatic lesions) of varying sizes in the bone. But the technology of that time could not reveal the full story.
In 2024, Frontiers in Medicine published a study in which Prof. Edgard Camarós and his team used micro-CT scans to take a “close-up” look at the edges of these holes. What they saw was shocking: Deliberate cut marks.
What Do These Marks Tell Us?
- 1. Anthropogenic (Human-Made) Intervention: The marks were not natural wear or animal bites. They were parallel, “V”-shaped microcuts immediately around the metastatic tumors (cancerous holes), made with a metal tool—probably a copper or bronze blade typical of the period. The physician appeared to have been trying to define the tumor’s boundaries.
- 2. A Procedure Around the Time of Death (Perimortem): The cuts were made while the bone was still fresh, unlike fractures in dry bone. However, there was no healing tissue (remodeling). This indicated that the procedure took place either immediately before death (to relieve pain) or immediately afterward (for an autopsy).
Scientific Interpretation: Despite the Edwin Smith Papyrus’ warning to “leave it alone,” Egyptian physicians had either attempted surgery as a last effort to save the patient or undertaken history’s first “medical exploration” (autopsy) to understand the cause of disease. Either way, it demonstrates “scientific curiosity.”
The Social Dimension of Cancer in Egypt: Care and Support
The history of cancer in Egypt reveals more than surgery; it also points to an advanced “palliative care” (supportive care) system. Discoveries by the University of Granada in the Qubbet el-Hawa tombs at Aswan (2000s BC - Middle Kingdom) provide an example.
The Oldest Known Breast Cancer
Breast cancer that had spread to the bones was found in the mummy of a noblewoman from the family of the governor of Elephantine. Her survival into very advanced disease suggests that her community cared for her, fed her and tried to manage her pain for a long time.
Diagnosis Without Unwrapping: Multiple Myeloma
A male mummy from the same necropolis was found to have bone marrow cancer (multiple myeloma). Modern CT technology made it possible to image microscopic cancer damage in the bones of 4000-year-old mummies without removing their wrappings.
- Tondini T, Isidro A, Camarós E. Case report: Boundaries of oncological and traumatological medical care in ancient Egypt: new palaeopathological insights from two human skulls. Frontiers in Medicine. 2024;11:1371645.
- Universitad de Granada. CT scans of Egyptian mummies reveal oldest known cases of breast cancer and multiple myeloma. 2017.
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